Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Everyone with anxiety needs to know that it is OK to admit it and that they are not alone. Here are 10 Things that people with anxiety can relate to:

1. You second guess everything that you do.

You know that first day feeling? When you get a job and you work it on the first day? You take a deep breath before you walk into the door. Your heart is racing, palms are sweating, and you can barely breathe. You walk in, and pray that you won’t mess anything up. You pray that you are able to hand the pace, the people, and the environment. For people with anxiety, that feeling is every single time they walk into that door before work. You are so scared that you will mess something up and will disappoint someone.

2. There is always a reason we are the way we are.

You don’t just wake up one day and have anxiety. It happens because somewhere along the road, you have had someone question your ability to be capable of anything. You have felt what it feels like to disappoint someone over and over again, even if it isn’t your fault.

3. People think it is just something you can gain control over, but you know that it consumes your life with literally everything that you do.

Whether it is making the bus on time to school, getting a grade back on a test, going on a date with someone who you have been dating for over 2 years. It is the simple things that are the hardest because we have to go through the motion of them every single day. For example, something as simple as getting to class on time. For normal people, it is okay if they are a minute or two late. But for people with anxiety, it is a whole other story. You start to have trouble breathing as you are racing to class, your heart is pounding immensely and you are insanely sweaty. Then if you end up getting their even just a minute late, you sit there the whole class period hating yourself for being late. You cannot even make eye contact with the professor because you are too ashamed that you messed up too badly.

4. Gaining confidence is a battle that is lost almost every single day.

Feeling good about yourself? Then one thing goes wrong and you feel like the world is ending. That may sound crazy to some people, but people with anxiety understand this concept all too well. One little anxiety attack can lead to a thousand things being wrong in that particular moment.

5. We question literally every decision we have ever made.

Whether it is the outfit you chose to wear that day or how well you performed in work, you always second guess yourself and think you chose or did something wrong. You will not be able to function because we sit and ponder what if we did something different? What if we did not make the right decision? How are people going to react to what we did? Even if you did absolutely nothing wrong, it still feels like something went wrong and it was our fault.

6. It always feels like we are walking on thin ice.

We are always so thoughtful with the way we say things. We handle issues in a way that results in the least likely of problems. There is not a day that passes that you don’t stress about things like, “Am I going to get enough sleep tonight?” “Am I going to be on time to class tomorrow?” “Is my alarm going to go off?” “Did I give myself enough time to get ready in the morning?” “Is this essay good enough?” “Does this outfit even look good?” “Do the people I work with like me and think I do a good job?” “Am I a good enough friend?” “Am I good enough to do this?” These are just a very few of the millions of questions that go through our head each and every single day.

7. We are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Because we care so much about what other people think, we will never say anything mean to you. We will never make you feel down. We will never hurt you in any way on purpose. We will never have anything less than good intentions for anything and everything we do.

8. We give 110% in everything.

The reason for this is because we know what it is like to disappoint someone, immensely. People with anxiety always try to make everyone happy and put other people before themselves, even the people who have hurt them. When it comes to sports and academics, we never want to displease anyone so we will give it our all and push past our limits. The reason for this is because we never want to feel disappointed in again.

9. Panic Attacks.

You know that thing when your heart feels like it stops and you cannot breathe or move. Your heart is racing a million times a minute but you can’t do anything but sit there. It is like your mind is frozen and it feels like you have so much going on, or so much to do, or have messed up so bad that it seems like everything is frozen in that moment and you will never be able to escape it. It literally feels like you are going to pass out and that your brain is going to explode. You become so scared and numb to anyone and anything. And no one can help you. Most of the time they happen when you are alone, but sometimes they happen when you are around people and that makes it worse because they have no idea what is going on. There is nothing that you can say or do to make it better for them, the only cure is to wait it out. Panic attacks are not just something that go away. They will never go away unless you feel like you have control of your life. When a person with anxiety experiences a panic attack, it means that they feel like everything is slipping out of their hands and they cannot handle the pressure that that holds.

10. Know that you are not alone.

When it comes to having anxiety, some people are clinically diagnosed with it while others are not. Never assume that just because a doctor has not told you that you have anxiety, that you don’t. Because they do not know what goes through your mind. The first step is accepting that you have anxiety, the next step is trying to learn how to deal with it and to not let it affect you as much as it wants to. There is no escape route, there is no pill you can take to escape it. But there are ways to help, when you start to feel this way you need to consciously tell yourself that you can handle it and that you can do this.

Also, it is so easy to feel alone when you have anxiety. But always remember that you cannot always tell if people have it and know that they are just as scared as you are. But there are people who will help you and ways that you can handle it. You just always have to remember to be extremely strong, especially on the darker days. And remember as well to never ever be ashamed of it, because it is part of who you are and it makes you an exceptionally strong, independent, and kind person.

When you are experiencing a panic attack, grab your favorite stuffed animal or something that means the world to you and just hold it and remind yourself that you will get through this and at the end of the day that it is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to not be perfect. Know that at the end of the day anxiety is not your enemy. It is something that you have been given to deal with because you are strong enough to handle it. Do not fight it, accept it and learn how to live with it. And never forget to remember that you are never alone in this battle.